60 Observers From Russia Called Belarus Authoritarian Police State :: Charter'97 :: News

60 observers from Russia finished their work in Belarus. At their press-conference they called Belarusian election unfair and subjective. In the opinion of the Russian observers Belarusian people live in an authoritarian police state.

The deputy of the Russian Duma Vadim Bondar monitored elections in Lida, Schuchin, Masty and Hrodna regions. Here the Russian MP saw that Belarusian special services participated in the election campaign: “On Saturday evening a headquarters of the organization for parallel vote tabulation were searched. It happened so that by accident I was present there during the search. It was late in the evening, about 11 p.m. The search was finished at 2 a.m. Nothing illegal was found, maybe it was a provocation, but I’d like to mention one detail. The next day (that is, on the day of the election) all activists were forcibly taken for interrogation. So there are no grounds to speak about a fair election in the country, where people are seized by KGB, the observers are expelled from the polling stations, were Internet is cut off”.

In Hrodna region another Russian observer, a lawyer Alexey Korolyov monitored the elections. “No freedom of choice exists, or this choice is connected with the harsh repercussions for those who have made this “officially disapproved” and “wrong” choice. My overall impression is: I would not like to move to Belarus and live here. There is no freedom of expression. And the main thing is: the dissidents are persecuted”.

Mark Goldman is the head of the Human Rights League in Lipetsk. He observed elections in Brest: “I have been taking part in election campaigns for twelve years. But I have never seen such one-sided situation, as I saw in Brest. Lukashenko seized everything: TV, leaflets, everything was in his support. We found out with surprise that there is no Lukashenko’s headquarters in Brest. We wanted to talk to its members, see what kind of men they are. But then we saw the point: what for Lukashenko needs the headquarters, when the entire system, all the election commissions work for him,” – Mark Goldman said.